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Extra Thick Italian Minestrone

This extra-thick, melt-in-your-mouth minestrone soup may just be my best recipe yet. Big statement for sure, but we just can't get enough of it.
A traditional Italian minestrone soup is made with fresh seasonal vegetables, legumes and pasta or rice. Jam-packed with vitamins, this soup is perfect to bolster your immunity as we head into Winter.
The secret to this recipe that sets it apart from most minestrone recipes you'll find is that it uses potato and pumpkin to naturally thicken it, making it more like a hearty stew than a soup.
I like to cook the pasta separately, put some in a bowl and just ladle the soup over it. That way your leftovers won't go all mushy.
But to be perfectly honest, you don't need the pasta for this to be an incredible and fulfilling meal.
**Bellissima**
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Appetizer, Dinner, entree, Main Course, Soup, starters
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 4-5 celery sticks chopped
  • 1/2 small butternut pumpkin peeled and diced into 1 cm cubes
  • 4 small washed potatoes unpeeled, dice into 1 cm cubes
  • 200 g sliced mushrooms
  • 200 g green beans cut in 2cm lengths
  • 1 capsicum chopped (I used a mixed colour but any colour is fine)
  • 800 g can crushed Italian tomatoes Fresh is better but they were a bit pricey when I made this.
  • 400 g can red kidney beans rinsed (feel free to soak your own a couple of days in advance. Need about 1 cup)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp dried basil
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 tsp hot chilli flakes optional
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1 cup pasta shells (if you plan on keeping some soup to freeze or to eat as leftovers it's best to cook your pasta separate as you need it rather than putting it in the pot, otherwise it will go all mushy)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Heat oil in a large pot on medium heat, and add the celery, onion, carrot and garlic. Stir through and cook for a couple of minutes.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for 60 min, stirring occasionally
  3. By this stage, the potato and pumpkin should begin to dissolve. With a large spatula or spoon press the potato and pumpkin up against the sides of the pot to help mash the lumpy bits. This will naturally thicken the soup. simmer for a further 15 min.
  4. Cook some pasta separately now or add to the soup if you are planning on eating it all in one sitting. Simmer for another 15 min or until pasta is cooked through and serve with some crusty bread. (If you are cooking the pasta separately simply add a good spoonful of cooked pasta to each bowl when serving.